The average price of a silencer is $500 + $200 tax at minimum you have $700. If you had ordered one online ad $75 for transfer. If you live in a state with sales tax $40 more. If you did a trust then take a portion of that into account. So suddenly your $500 silencer cost somewhere between $700-$850. Now even if you were to get 75% of new price for you used silencer it is worth $375 or half of what you paid.

Now it is only worth $375 IF you sale it in state. If you sell it out of state it has to be transferred to a SOT which will cost $200, so that means if someone was to buy yours at 75% of retail it would be worth $175 to a buyer. Now say you have a .22 can that only cost $300 in the first place now you would only get $75 for it.

Buying a used suppressor from a private individual would really concern me.
The seller would be holding on to the suppressor until the form 4 goes through the excruciatingly slow ATF process and I would have to trust that after 9 month or more it would still be there in the same condition that when I bought it.
With a dependable dealer, it's locked away and waiting for me all new in the box.

Buying a used suppressor from a private individual would really concern me.
The seller would be holding on to the suppressor until the form 4 goes through the excruciatingly slow ATF process and I would have to trust that after 9 month or more it would still be there in the same condition that when I bought it.
With a dependable dealer, it's locked away and waiting for me all new in the box.

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I have purchased a used suppressor privately. It was part of a M11/9 package. I had a contract with the seller that everything would be in the same condition as when I first saw it and that it wouldn't be used while waiting for the stamp, and it wasn't.

I would buy another used can privately if it was something I was interested in, such as a 45 cal can for a subgun.

Actually, as someone in the market to sell (I've got a completely unused AAC SDN-6, it'd be NIB except I can't find what I did with the box...), and after taking into account local dealer prices and transfer fees, it doesn't look completely terrible.

Cut out dealer transfer on an NFA (which is at least $100 anywhere around me), maybe sales tax (not too sure if this has to be collected/reported on a single private transfer), and suddenly it doesn't look quite as bad -- especially compared to dealer pricing around here. Yeah, as a seller I'm not going to turn a profit, but I'm mostly looking at getting as much of my payment out of it as possible. Thanks to the AAC rebate, I've got a handful of 51T muzzle devices that I can sell as well that will help recoup the loss.

The only real problem is finding a buyer. Small market in-state, and out of state and the extra stamp (and wait) completely destroys the proposition. Thankfully, the wait seems to be dropping as well, so it's not quite so painful.

Selling used suppressors privately has a few obstacles. First, you're dealing with NFA law that complicates the process and also builds in a delay. The delay is not just a complication for the buyer, it's a complication for the seller as well.

Next, there is the $200 tax stamp. The tax really puts a damper on the used market. If a guy is tired of a firearm and wants to trade it in with a dealer so he can buy the next firearm, it's usually not a problem. Typically, he can do it the same day and there is not a $200 tax to do it.

With a suppressor, there is a $200 transfer tax. The tax is the same whether you're buying new or used, high end or low end. Someone is going to have to pay it. With a private party purchaser, the transfer tax is often paid by the buyer. Occasionally, it's split with or covered by the seller.

If an owner is trying to use his suppressor as a trade-in with a shop that deals in NFA items, the shop will make the seller cover the transfer tax. So let's say the guy has a used suppressor that cost $550 new without tax. If the dealer pledges to give him $400 for the trade-in, the guy will only net $200 after the transfer is completed months later. Since the seller is looking at netting very little on the sale, he often opts to keep the can.

I wish the used suppressor market was simpler and quicker. I have two suppressors I'd love to sell but transfer times are long.

It only requires a "dealer" SOT when doing interstate transfers, just like any other firearm.

Speaking of which I wonder how 594 effects that........

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A suppressor is a firearm under federal law, however it does not meet the definition of a firearm under washington state law. My trust attorney basically said trustee can hand a suppressor over to another trustee without a background check, however a SBR in the trust would have to have a BGC for another trustee to have possession, even though neither person actually owns it.

Another problem is that suppressor technology is constantly evolving. Pistol and rifle suppressors from 5 years ago seem dated today. Older rimfire suppressors didn't allow for disassembly as they do now. Why buy used old tech from the secondary market with a long wait when you can buy new for not much more?

Another problem is that suppressor technology is constantly evolving. Pistol and rifle suppressors from 5 years ago seem dated today. Older rimfire suppressors didn't allow for disassembly as they do now. Why buy used old tech from the secondary market with a long wait when you can buy new for not much more?

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I can see that being the case, but it's back to a markdown there. Plus, there are always those out there who, for one reason or another, have something pretty current to sell. Like me, for instance -- after AAC left a bad taste in my mouth, the last thing I want is to give them more money. By the same token, I want to keep my mounts as uniform as possible and retain the cross-platform capability I was planning on. That means the easiest way is to simply get rid of my brand spanking new SDN-6.

I guess if I can't move it I'll keep a couple of mounts and have it as a backup, but frankly it'd be a very, very, VERY overpriced paperweight for all intents and purposes.

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